In a disturbing occurrence, on June 4 in a 5-km Sikh march in the Canadian city of Brampton, the pro-Khalistani elements featured a tableau glorifying the assassination of late Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. The tableau was a part of the annual Sikh Martyrdom Parade which saw the participation of a large number of people in the city where the largest number of Sikhs live in Canada.
The video of the tableau has gone viral over the internet in which Indira Gandhi is shown being assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards. The tableau also displays Khalistani flags and a poster reading, “Revenge of the attack on Shri Darbar Sahib.” Another poster that the tableau carried read, “Never Forget 1984. Sikh Genocide.”
Does it help Canada's 'Indo-Pacific strategy'? A float depicting murder of late Indian PM by her Sikh bodyguards being part of about 5 KM long parade in city of Brampton on June 4th. Jody Thomas may reflect on it! pic.twitter.com/rBFn7vMKyz
— Balraj Deol (@BalrajDeol4) June 6, 2023
The video has been highly criticized by netizens who said that India should send a strong message to the Canadian PM for allegedly serving as a breeding ground for the pro-khalistani elements.
One of the users also said that though Indira Gandhi belonged to the Congress party, none of the BJP members will support the tableau out of respect for India’s former PM. Meanwhile, he also hinted that the Congress even today finds pleasure in defaming PM Modi on international platforms.
This recent incident has once again brought to the forefront India’s concerns regarding the activities of pro-Khalistani elements in Canada. Notably, India summoned the Canadian High Commissioner in March to convey its strong concerns about the actions by pro-Khalistani extremist elements against Indian diplomatic missions in Canada in recent times.
India had also criticized Canada last year for holding a vote on Khalistan, the call for a separate Sikh nation. The referendum was described as “deeply objectionable” and behavior “politically motivated” by extremist forces.
Operation Blue Star and assasination of Indira Gandhi
On October 31, 1984, the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi took place at her home in New Delhi, months after the Indian Army had conducted Operation Bluestar to drive Sikh insurgents from the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
Operation Blue Star is the largest internal security mission the Indian Army has ever gone on. The Operation was Indira Gandhi’s response to the law-and-order problems that were occurring in Punjab at the time as a result of the spread of the Khalistan movement. Under Operation Blue Star, which was conducted in Amritsar between June 1 and June 8, 1984, Indira Gandhi, the country’s prime minister at the time, gave the order for Indian soldiers to drive out Sikh militants who were stockpiling weapons in Sri Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple).
Supporters of Khalistan had taken refuge at Amritsar’s Golden Temple’s Akal Takht complex in the 1980s. Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale who seized control of the Akal Takht complex in Amritsar’s Golden Temple, was the target of the Blue Star operation.
According to the official data, 492 civilians and at least 83 Army jawans died during the whole operation. The fire at this time included a shot at a copy of the sacred Sikh text that was put in the Golden Temple.
